Monday, July 12, 2010

Many people subscribe to the theory that anything is possible and with enough hard work and dedication, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to achieve. If I may, I’d like to call BS (sorry, little Jimmy, I really don’t buy that old “anybody can be president if he or she tries hard enough” line). I believe most of us are born with a set limit of potential, and with a lot of work and effort, we can achieve that, but not really much more. There are some whose potential appears unlimited – my loving husband is one of those lucky few – but for many of us, the sky is, in fact, not the limit. We can only reach the much lower stars that manage to slip in under the glass ceiling. For me personally, right now my biggest and most difficult challenges are acceptance and understanding, and I’m working diligently to face them both head-on. I am learning to accept that my destiny is locked within that glass ceiling and my mediocrity is worthwhile in and of itself – after all, without incompetence how would we measure outstanding? Additionally I’m beginning to understand that accepting my own lack of talent is not giving up. Rather it is discovering freedom from the frustrating struggle to achieve potential I do not have when instead I could find some measure of success in finally putting my handprint on that glass ceiling of inadequacy and becoming comfortable with my own ineptitude. I realize, of course, this may all sound like nothing more than sour grapes from someone who has tasted failure far, far more often than she would like, and perhaps to some degree, it is. But on the other hand, maybe I’m just trampling those sour grapes into a palatable wine…